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Welcome to Quilting in Wild Rose Country©.
This on-line issue has the colour versions of the beautiful quilts shown
in the printed newsletter that many of you have received in the mail.
Thank You
Thank you for all the cards and notes with regards to the termination of
the publishing of the newsletter. They were greatly appreciated.
Marion
from Carol Penmann
Paradise Valley
Ellen Teasdale
Ellen Teasdale lives with her husband Dennis on a farm near Paradise Valley.
They have raised three children named David, Denise and Stephen and presently
have five grandchildren. Except for the time she was at university, Ellen has
spent her whole life on the farm and enjoys gardening as well as driving a
tractor, combine and feeding the cows. She and Dennis live at the top of the
Battle River Valley and enjoy breathtaking views every day.
Ellen started the 4-H Sewing Clubs in the Community as well as teaching at the
Sunday school. She made costumes for her children when they were in figure
skating as well as working in the booth for hockey games when needed.
Ellen is a retired school teacher who taught for 27 years, and has at some
point taught each grade from kindergarten to Grade 12. She has spent the last
18 years of her career teaching Grade 5, where her last five classes made a
quilt as part of their art class. Ellen quilted it for them and they raffled
it off and the money raised went toward the year-end field trip to the
swimming pool where teacher and students enjoyed the pool to themselves for
a wonderful afternoon.
In 1990 Ellen decided to try her hand at quilting and fell in love with it.
Since then she has gone on a quilt tour to Europe, Quilt Market in Houston,
Texas and Pittsburgh and for the last five years has attended the Canmore
Quilt Art Conference where she has enjoyed meeting some of the best quilters
in America.
more in the printed newsletter
by Carol Penman
Czar & Sedgewick
Thelma & Louise
Thelma & Louise? Nope, but in reality still the adventure and excitement of
Two Sister's road trip to Sisters, Oregon for the Annual Outdoor Quilt Show.
Amid stacks of road maps, quilt magazines and research, two sisters, Carole
Cameron of Czar, Alberta and Vicki Storbakken of Sedgewick, Alberta sketched
plans to arrange their dream of a road trip to Sisters, Oregon for the 30th
Annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show held each and every July. The quilt show
is the brainchild of renowned quilter and artist, Jean Wells and her daughter
Valori. To Jean Wells the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is about memories that
span over the last 30 years as the show grew into the largest of its kind in
the nation. As plans progressed and the trip became more of a reality Carole
and Vicki agreed that the ultimate would be to see one of their own quilts
hung among the 1,200 quilts on display.
Then all the decisions of what classes to take, what advanced tickets for
lunches, garden/home tours and speakers to purchase and all this in addition
to planning the road trip route which was sure to include historical sites,
wrong turns, shopping, eating, hotels and for sure the unique wonderful quilt
shops including The Buggy Barn.
more in the printed newsletter
from Ada Moyles
Edmonton
Wendy Rao
When you first look at Wendy Rao's extraordinary fibre art portraits, what
strikes you most are the eyes of her subjects, which seem to be looking back
at you from their beautifully crafted and stitched faces, deeply expressive
of the mood and revealing something of the characters of their owners. Next
you become aware of the faces themselves, which give evidence of the life
experiences which have formed them. Finally, and especially if you come from
a quilting background, you are intrigued by the artistic creativity and use
of both traditional and innovative techniques which allow all this to be
demonstrated using fabrics, fibres, and found objects of many kinds. For
Wendy Rao's quilted art is a class by itself and as her website says, "through
portraits, whether painted with fingers or rag or stitched with fibres,
yarns, beads and found objects [it] explores the human spirit, giving the
public a personal and emotional connection with their own state of being."
Wendy can't remember a time when both art and sewing were not a part of her
life. As a child she was always making pictures and remembers her mother
sewing at her treadle sewing machine giving Wendy "rides" on the treadle and
letting her play with her button jar and its colourful collection of buttons.
These memories have been depicted in charming quilts which are a rare
departure from her portraits. Wendy learned to sew from her mother and later
sewed and designed clothes for herself and her children. After her marriage
to her husband Giri, they lived in Saudi Arabia and made a number of visits
to India, where Wendy was captivated by the sunlight reflecting on the
brightly coloured fabrics she saw there. She purchased many silk saris which
she transformed into special occasion dresses for herself and her daughters,
when they returned to Canada.
more in the printed newsletter
from Ada Moyles
Edmonton
Show Girls
Very few people, I venture to say, when they hear the words "show girls"
think of quilters. But a group of Edmonton quilters have chosen that name
to identify themselves as they present their fabric art to the public.
The Show Girls - Sharon Willas Rubuliak, Dawna Dey Harrish, Cathy Thom,
Margo Fiddes, and Mary-Anne Kilgannon - describe themselves as "five ladies
that quilt with artistic flair," and their recent show of art quilts "Renewed
Interest" at the Jeff Allen Gallery in Edmonton gave ample evidence of both
their backgrounds as quilters and their artistic explorations in the use of
fabric, colour and embellishment. Described as "an eclectic assortment," the
show contained twenty-five quilts - five from each artist - illustrating a
variety of techniques, materials, styles and themes. Sharon Rubuliak's
"Calypson Moons," for example, with its striking combination of strip-piecing,
brilliant orange and yellow fabric, and innovative design has its roots
clearly in the traditional quilt, while Cathy Thom's "Without a Whisper"
embellished with actual stirrups and riding gloves, uses graphic designs,
as well as printed fabrics, and machine stitching to make an unmistakably
clear statement against the abuse of horses. Embellishment is very much in
vogue these days in art quilts and in addition to the familiar use of beads,
buttons and sequins, these quilt-artists made effective use of various "found
objects". Re-cycled jewellery added focus to Dawna Dey Harrish's "All that
Glitters" and stones gathered from the beach at Secheldt, provided extra
dimension to Mary-Anne Kilgannon's depiction of the beach in "Beachcombing,"
while Margo Fiddes' skilful machine embroidery greatly enhanced her landscape
quilt "Road to Buck Lake."
Each of the Show Girls has developed and increased her skills and abilities
by taking courses from well-known instructors in Edmonton and at various
venues throughout Alberta and outside the province. "Renewed Interest" is
both a look back at their past accomplishments and a starting point for their
future explorations as they continue to explore and develop their artistic
potential.
Don't forget to check out the Events.
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